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When is a map not a map? Task and language in spatial interpretation with digital map displays
Author(s) -
Davies Clare
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.786
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , recall , cognitive map , task (project management) , representation (politics) , mental representation , visualization , spatial cognition , mental image , geographic information system , focus (optics) , cognition , digital mapping , computer science , psychology , orientation (vector space) , mental mapping , cognitive psychology , human–computer interaction , artificial intelligence , cartography , geography , engineering , mathematics , physics , systems engineering , optics , neuroscience , politics , law , political science , programming language , geometry
Cognitive studies of map interpretation, for both paper‐based and digital maps (e.g. in geographic information systems), have generally assumed awareness of the map's geographic representational characteristics. However, many tasks using a digital map do not require visualization of the geographic environment it represents, but a conflicting focus on the geometric properties of the visual array. An experimental study demonstrated that the tasks performed and linguistic terms used with a digital map influenced the user's mental representation, as reflected by ease of orientation within the actual geographic environment (as measured by an unexpected photograph interpretation task). The map was still present during this task, since the concern was with interpretation rather than recall. No gender, age or expertise effects were found. Results are discussed with regard to the concept of reference frames and other spatial distinctions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.